SUNDAY MERCURY WROTEColeshill Town lost 6-4 at Loughborough University despite taking a two-goal lead into the break. Matt Brown and Chris Gumery were among the scorers for the visitors but five goals in 19 second half minutes handed the Students the points.

Match ReportWow! Didn't see this coming! A bazaar game, some strange decisions by the officials, in complete control by half time and in complete disarray by full time! Just glad that performance is out of the way before the big Vase game next week!
A lovely day for football with the fantastic facilities at the University but a very heavy pitch. Coleshill got the electronic scoreboard working as early as the 3rd minute. Ryan Nash forced a corner off the home keeper with a left foot shot and from the cross the ball ended up in the net off Jack Hullin and a defender. Coleshill were in complete control and a fine move should have increased the lead but for the start of some amazing decisions by the officials. Ryan Nash started the move, passed to Matt Brown who cleverly headed into the path of Chris Gumery who confidently finished with a left foot shot. Everyone moved into position for the restart , everyone but the Assistant Linesman who waved the Referee over to him, and then the Ref awarded a goal kick saying that Gumery's effort had gone wide, incredible! The ball had actually gone through a hole in the net, embarrassing! To make matters worse on 36 minutes the Uni equalised! Johannes Meuller tried his luck from the edge of the box and Paul Hathaway allowed the ball to go under his body and trickle into the net, a poor goal to concede. Minutes later and Coleshill regained the lead when Dean Rathbone got to the bye line and crossed into a crowded six yard box and again the ball ended up in the net via Matt Brown and a defender. And then in the very next attack Town increased the lead when Rathbone's fine through ball found Brown who lobbed the ball over the keeper and into the net 3-1. Gumery and Brown combined but Gumery's effort went just wide then the Students keeper made a good save from Brown as Coleshill finished the half two goals up but it could so easily have been four.

The second half was a completely different story! Coleshill seemed to sit on their lead and the Uni upped the pace and started running more at the visitors defence. Hullin and Worthington had already made important blocks and tackles to deny the home side but on 49 minutes Man of the Match George Nash took it upon himself to get his team back into the game when he sent a lovely left foot shot into the corner of the net which left Hathaway rooted to the spot. On 60 minutes the teams were level after a great long ball by Jack Beckett found Jack Emmettt wide on the left but he cut inside and fed Josh Hill who sent a looping shot over Hathaway and into the net. Coleshill finally put a move together to regain the lead two minutes later. Brown ran at the home defence and slotted the ball through for Gumery who lifted the ball over the advancing keeper, 4-3. Loughborough substitute Sam Minahan got to the bye line and pulled the ball back for Daniel Partridge to force the ball home in a crowded area. It wasn't going well for Coleshill but on 75 minutes it all went Pete Tong! Paul Hathaway came out of his box to clear a long through ball but he got underneath it and was stranded. Barry Fitzharris had come round to cover but the ball hit his hand. Now this looked to be outside the box and a free kick at the worst but the Referee awarded a penalty and sent off Fitzharris. Keiran Wenlock scored from the spot. Five minutes later, from a short corner, Emmett curled the ball into the net to make it six! Kenlock powered his way into the box and chipped the ball over Hathaway. Ashley Bradshaw clashed with a forward whilst attempting to clear the ball off the line but rather than awarding a free kick to Coleshill, astonishingly the Referee awarded another penalty to the Uni. Some justice was done as Hathaway saved Kenlock's spot kick.
A second half where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong! Time to move on, put it to the back of the memory bank, get back to basics and hope it doesn't happen again especially next week!

A View From The Other SideMatch report taken from the University web site
By Sophie Cunliffe

Loughborough staged a memorable comeback in a ten-goal-thriller on Saturday afternoon after being 1-3 down to visitors Coleshill Town at half-time. Adding to Mueller’s first-half goal, the second-half saw Nash, Hill, Partridge, Kenlock and Emmett all find the net to bring the final score line to 6-4.

The start of the first-half saw early chance for Coleshill as Hazlett was forced to make a good low save. Unfortunately for Loughborough, early errors saw them trying to pick up the pieces after a corner from Coleshill’s Hulin found the goal just six minutes in.

Coleshill looked to pile on the pressure after the home sides slip-up, Gumery producing a well placed shot that was saved by Hazlett. However, Loughborough had their chances too as Emmett’s well placed corner to the centre of the area was thumped out but Coleshill’s goalkeeper Hathaway. Minutes later, shots from Loughborough’s Hill and Beckett sent the ball wide. Another long-distance effort from Beckett saw the ball narrowly pass the post.

Fourteen minutes in, it looked to be 0-2 after another shot by the visitor’s Gumery this time reached over the line but, much to the dismay of Coleshill Town, the goal was disallowed by the referee.

Great teamwork 31 minutes in saw a ball from Brenan find Mueller on the right wing whose superb long range shot crept under Hathaway and into the net.

However, the visitors upped their game and were swift on the counter-attack as Rathbone caught the Loughborough defence off-guard and snuck in his cross, putting Coleshill in the lead once more in the 36th minute. Just minutes later, Coleshill’s Brown brought the ball down to his feet before lofting the ball over Hazlett into the top right, making it Loughborough 1-3 Coleshill Town.

HT: Loughborough 1-3 Coleshill Town

After the break, fresh legs in the form of Minihan saw Loughborough look to close the gap. Skipper Nash got the proceedings underway as his shot found the bottom right of the net just five minutes in. Seconds later, Nash almost followed up his goal with a second when his shot went over the bar. Instead, a great run down the wing from Emmett saw Hill latch onto the ball and send it beyond Hathaway to bring Loughborough level.

The visitors soon retaliated, a shot from the right from Weller forcing a fine save from Hazlett before Gumery made amends for the earlier disallowed goal to put them ahead once more in the 59th minute.

Coleshill Town’s 3-4 lead, nevertheless, was short-lived as Loughborough’s Partridge nudged the ball in to level the score line for the home side five minutes later. The visitors looked to regain their lead as a goal-mouth scramble saw multiple attempts on goal but on-guard goalkeeping from Hazlett and sharp defending ensured the ball was cleared away.

Coleshill’s Fitzharries was shown red and dismissed 69 minutes in after handling the ball in the area, Loughborough making it 5-4 as Kenlock converted their awarded penalty into a goal with ease.

Loughborough before long extended their lead again, as Emmett curled the ball beyond Hathaway deep into the second-half.

Emmett and Hill were replaced by Downey and Lemon in the closing minutes for one last push. A foul in the area shortly after saw Colehill’s Bradshaw yellow carded and a penalty awarded. Hathaway was able to keep Kenlock and Loughborough at bay with a well timed saved.

Despite their best efforts, shots from Poxon and Lemon were unfounded in the closing minutes leaving the final score at Loughborough 6-4 Coleshill Town.

FT: Loughborough 6-4 Coleshill Town

Speaking after the game, Stuart McLaren felt the easiest way to sum up the game, what he described as a ‘clichéd game of two different halves’, as one of ‘the strangest game of football’ he had seen. Commenting on the match officials, he felt they missed a blatant goal for Coleshill and that there ‘were a couple of other things within the game which were questionable from their decisions’.

With regards to Loughborough’s performance, McLaren said:

We’ve worked quite hard in training this week, and over a period of time to improve on our ability to prevent the opposition from scoring, so to concede three in what should have been four in the first half through a lack of appliance and basic defensive principles and, I’m sad to say, effort and willingness was really disappointing. However, at half-time I gave them some details on how we could do it better and be more effective in possession and, lo and behold, they didn’t only just do it, they did it unbelievably well in the second half! A completely different team! I just wish that they would do that from the beginning, rather than waiting until half time.